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Leading
the Way: Sir John Monash
The
Engineer
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Sources
for all text: John Monash: A Biography by Geoffrey Serle
(Melbourne University Press, 1982) and Monash by Vernon
R. Northwood with assistance from Dr. Gershon Bennett (State
Electricity Commission of Victoria, 1950)
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John Monash
completed his secondary schooling at Scotch College in 1881,
where he was equal Dux of the school and Dux in Mathematics
and Modern Languages. He subsequently enrolled in the Arts faculty
at Melbourne University with the intention of becoming an engineer.
In 1885
before completing his degree, he found employment on the new
Princes Bridge and over the next two years assisted the contractor
David Munro on this and other bridges in the Footscray, Moonee
Ponds and Coburg areas.
In April
1888 he was appointed to take charge of the Outer Circle railway
works, an eastern suburban line from Oakleigh to Fairfield via
Camberwell, for the contractors Graham and Wadick. The project
was completed in January 1891 and Monash subsequently took up
a position with the Harbor Trust where he remained for two and
a half years during the worst of the depression and was able
to continue his studies part-time.
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| Above:
Certificate of Competency as Municipal Surveyor, 1891 |
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Above:
Certificate of Competency as Engineer of Water Supply, Victoria,
1892
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Above:
University of Melbourne Testamur - Master of Civil Engineering,
1893 |
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August 1891 Monash completed the municipal surveyors course, and
in November 1891 enrolled as a student of the Supreme Court. In
1892 he began studying the water supply engineers course and also
completed his BA. He took out his master's degree in engineering
early in 1893, and formally graduated in Arts and Law in 1895.
In June
1894 the firm of Monash & Anderson opened in Elizabeth Street,
Melbourne. Joshua T. Noble Anderson had been a friend of Monash's
since tutoring him for the water supply engineer's exam in 1891,
and the two set up as civil, mining and mechanical engineers,
and patent agents. Monash also came into demand as an advocate
and expert witness in legal-engineering work, and between 1897
and 1899 spent much time in Queensland, New South Wales and
Western Australia. In September 1897 Monash & Anderson became
the Victorian agents for Monier reinforced concrete construction.
This led to their involvement in the building of the Anderson
Street (Morell) bridge over the Yarra and becoming contractors
for the Fyansford (Barwon River) and other Victorian bridges.
They also took up pipe manufacture forming, with David Mitchell,
the Monier Pipe Co. Pty. Ltd. of Victoria in 1901.
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| Above:
John and Victoria Monash (left) with workmen at the Fyansford
Bridge, 1899. |
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Above:
Construction of the Morell (Anderson Street) Bridge, a "monier
arch" bridge over the Yarra River, 1899. |
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In 1905
the Monash and Anderson partnership was dissolved and a new
company, the Reinforced Concrete & Monier Pipe Construction
Co. Pty. Ltd. created, to concentrate on the use of reinforced
concrete in general building construction. The company undertook
work on tanks, culverts, silos, country post offices, suburban
banks and warehouses. The South Australian Reinforced Concrete
Co. Ltd. which Monash established (in partnership with E. H.
Bakewell, David Mitchell, John Gibson and C. H. Angas) in 1907
was also a great success.
Although
the Monier patents expired the Victorian company continued to
do well and carried out work on the Town Hall, the Melbourne
Hospital, the State Savings Bank head office, the Centre Way
Arcade and various government buildings, as well as bridge and
road works.
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Left:
Portable sections for septic tank, dated October 30, 1906 |
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Right: Details of Conduits, dated September 4, 1911. Both drawings
are signed in bottom right hand corner |
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| Following
the end of the war, and the completion of his duties with the
Australian Forces in Europe, Monash was reunited with his family
in England. During this time he received honorary degrees at Oxford
and Cambridge. His book 'The Australian Victories in France in
1918' was later submitted to the University of Melbourne as a
thesis on the subject of engineering applied to modern warfare
and on it he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Engineering,
the first to be awarded by an Australian University. |
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Above:
The Encoenia, Oxford, where he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate
of Civil Laws in 1919
Back
row: Prof. H. Pirenne, Rear Admiral Sir W. Hall, Dr Blakiston
(Vice-Chancellor), F.W. Pember (Warden); front row: Admiral
Sir Rosslyn Wemyss, General Sir John Monash, General J. Pershing,
Marechal Joseph Jacques Joffre, Rt. Hon. Earl Curzon (Chancellor),
General Sir Douglas Haig, Admiral Sir David Beatty, Dr H.C.
Hoover, General Sir H.H. Wilson.
Doctor
of Engineering, 1921 (top right), and Doctor of Laws, 1922 (bottom
right) both awarded by the University of Melbourne
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Monash's triumphant return to Australia he briefly took up his
business activities again before withdrawing from his companies
in 1920, after agreeing to become General Manager of the State
Electricity Scheme, formed in the previous year. He assumed office
as Chairman of the new State Electricity Commission early in 1921.
The commission was established to develop open cut mining of the
huge deposits of brown coal in the La Trobe Valley and to build
the installations, which would transmit power statewide. In 1924
the first of the electricity from Yallourn was received in the
city, and in the 1927 the SEC showed a profit.
"The creativity, loyalty and affection
[Monash] inspired seem to have few or no parallels in any other
large Australian corporation. [He was] a champion who saw the
SEC through to an unusual position of public pride and acclaim
for a State instrumentality."
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Left:
Group outside Albury Town Hall after civic reception to mark the
switch-on of Yallourn power at Albury, May 1926 (Monash front
row fourth from left) |
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| Above:
Two images of Sir John Monash with unidentified colleagues at
construction site, Wodonga Sub-station, Albury May 1926. Monash
can be seen at left in left hand side image and on right in right
hand side image. |
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these last years Monash was also closely associated with the building
of Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. He was a member of the executive
committee formed in 1921 and of the site sub-committee, and chairman
of the assessors choosing the design. He supervised construction
of the Shrine and the public appeal for funds, and in 1930 rewrote
the inscription planned for the west wall himself. In 1929 the
Institute of Engineers, Australia awarded Monash its highest honour,
the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, and in June 1931 he was
awarded the University of Melbourne's Kernot Memorial Medal for
distinguished achievement in Australian engineering. |
Contents | Introduction
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Man
Records
and Archives Services | Monash
University
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